Live Event

Festival Speakers

Check back for updates as we add more speakers to our line up!

Damola Adamolekun

CEO, Board of Directors

P.F. Chang’s China Bistro Inc.

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Jae Kim

Founder

Chi’Lantro BBQ

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Mike Rypka

Founder & CEO

Torchy’s Tacos

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Lon Symensma

Owner/Executive Chef

ChoLon Restaurant Concepts

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Michael McHenry

Founder

The McHenry Group

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Robin Robison

Chief Operating Officer

Modern Restaurant Concepts

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Sam Oches

Editor-in-Chief

Nation’s Restaurant News

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John Peyton

CEO

Dine Brands

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Christi Ravneberg

Senior Managing Editor

Nation’s Restaurant News

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Lisa Jennings

Executive Editor

Nation’s Restaurant News

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Jessica Tomlinson

Director of Culinary

Ford’s Garage USA

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Josh Halpern

CEO

Big Chicken

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Sahil Rahman

Co-Founder

RASA

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Nick Marsh

CEO

Founder’s Table

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Holly Petre

Digital Editor

Nation’s Restaurant News

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Paul Macaluso

CEO

Another Broken Egg

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Betsy Hamm

CEO

Duck Donuts

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Lindsay Rakowski

Vice President of National Marketing

Wendy’s

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Bret Thorn

Senior Editor, Food & Beverage

Nation’s Restaurant News

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Sanjiv Razdan

President Americas & India

The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf

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Ron Ruggless

Senior Editor

Nation’s Restaurant News

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Joel Yashinsky

Chief Marketing Officer

Applebee’s

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Stratis Morfogen

Founder

Brooklyn Dumpling Shop, Brooklyn Chop House

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Otto Othman

Co-Founder & CEO

PINCHO

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Leigh Anne Zinsmeister

Group Managing Editor

Nation’s Restaurant News

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Bonin Bough

Marketing Guru, Investor, Author

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Dontre’al Haigler

Product Development

Denny’s

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Ashley Morris

CEO

Capriotti’s & Wing Zone

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Troy Guard

Owner/Executive Chef

TAG Restaurant Group

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Meredith Cagigal

VP Foodservice Channel Strategy & Execution

The Coca-Cola Company

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Kieran Donahue

Chief Marketing Officer

IHOP

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Joanna Fantozzi

Senior Editor

Nation’s Restaurant News

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James O’Reilly

CEO

Smokey Bones

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Carron Harris

Sr. Director of Culinary

Papa Murphy’s

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Kelley Fechner

Director Customer Solutions

Datassential

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Khanh Nguyen

Chief Executive Officer

Zalat Pizza

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Imran Sheikh

Co-founder and CEO

Milkshake Concepts

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Bettina Stern

Principal & Co-Founder

Chaia

What are you responsible for at your company?
Co-CEO role - but predominately development, strategy, branding, marketing, partnerships

How would your customers describe your restaurant brand?
Chaia is an unconventional taco shop on a mission to get people to eat more vegetables, for both their health and the health of the environment. We believe that everything’s better in a taco, and that making the world a better place starts with the food we eat.

What excites you about the future of this industry?
Our dream has always been change-making at scale, and we’re ready to take Chaia to its full potential. We look forward to bringing ‘farm to taco’ to neighborhoods and families across the country

Other than your own restaurants, what is your all-time favorite meal?
summer food: a ripe tomato sandwich for lunch and fresh-caught, grilled bluefish for supper

Give us a fun fact about yourself?
I'm learning to surf!

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